Professor H. Ohno -- First demonstration of highly reliable spintronics devices --
The research group of Professor Hideo Ohno of Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems and Research Institute of Electrical Communication of Tohoku University together with Kyoto University and NEC Corporation (NEC) demonstrated the world’s first three-terminal spintronics device that is as highly reliable as existing semiconductor technologies. They optimized a structure of nanometer-sized magnetic film and achieved sufficient operation stability and high endurance and availability under a broad range of environments such as temperature and magnetic field. In addition, they confirmed 10-years’ non-volatile data retention at a temperature of 150°C, which is a common specification for automobile application. In system-LSI, which is a core device of digital equipment, considerable increase in standby power has grown into a serious problem in recent years. The obtained results show that the developed technology can provide a new value of “zero standby power” to the system-LSI without degrading the reliability or convenience of existing technology. With this device technology, the developments toward practical use are expected to be accelerated.
For Inquiries
Naoki Kasai, Deputy Director
Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems, Tohoku University
TEL: +81-22-217-6115
E-mail: n-kasai@csis.tohoku.ac.jp